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Presentation on theme: "Is the Bible Reliable? Examining the Trustworthiness of the Gospels."— Presentation transcript:

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The biographies of Jesus claim to be the records of eyewitnesses – John 21:20-24; 1 John 1:1-4. Early and Trustworthy Witnesses (Contemporary, Persecuted, Converted, Invested)

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The intent of the biographies of Jesus was to preserve reliable history – Luke 1:1-4. Early Testimony, Divergent Facts, Embarrassing Details

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Have the biographies of Jesus been reliably preserved for us? Yes! Early Manuscripts, Virtually Untainted (99.5%)

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There are historical and archeological data outside the Gospels supporting Jesus.

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About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man.... For he was one who wrought surprising feats and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks.... When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest standing among us, had condemned him to be crucified, those who had in the first place come to love him did not give up their affection for him.... Josephus, The Antiquities, AD 93

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Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus... Tacitus, Annals, AD 115

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I have asked them if they are Christians, and if they admit it, I repeat the question a second and third time, with a warning of the punishment awaiting them. If they persist, I order them to be led away for execution; for, whatever the nature of their admission, I am convinced that their stubbornness and unshakable obstinacy ought not to go unpunished.... They also declared that the sum total of their guilt or error amounted to no more than this: they had met regularly before dawn on a fixed day to chant...

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... verses alternately amongst themselves in honor of Christ as if to a god, and also to bind themselves by oath, not for any criminal purpose, but to abstain from theft, robbery, and adultery.... This made me decide it was all the more necessary to extract the truth by torture from two slave- woman, whom they called deaconesses. I found nothing but a degenerate sort of cult carried to extravagant lengths. Pliny the Younger, Letters, AD 111

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The faith of Christianity is not blind but is built on historical evidence – see John 10:37-38. History, Archeology, Biology

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Is the Jesus of history the same as the Jesus of faith? Absolutely! – 1 Corinthians 15:1-28; John 20:30-31.